First Memory Card for EOS 50D???

[un4given]

Looks like I'm picking up my Canon EOS 50D tomorrow and have been looking for deals online for compact flash cards. I think I want to go with Sandisk as I've used only their cards in the past and have really liked them.

I'm thinking of going with the Extreme III 16 GB Compact Flash card. Best Buy has it for $119:

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10091308&catid=20087

Is this a decent card? It has an average write & read speed of about 20mbps, not great but okay I guess. I'd probably beable to fit about 750-800 pics using the highest resolution on RAW.

Should I look else where or is this a pretty good starter card? I know in the future I will be looking to the Extreme IV's, etc... but they are difficult to find here in Stores and for a good price.

[Duncan Frenz]

A 16 GB card will hold ~800+ pics RAW. I get ~270 using RAW + L and a 8GB card.

[un4given]

A 16 GB card will hold ~800+ pics RAW. I get ~270 using RAW + L and a 8GB card.

Oops, my bad... I fixed it. I forgot to add a 0 haha, I had a lapse and thought it was 100 mb's per every 1gig, but it's 1000. :oops:

You're right. So maybe I'm fine going with a 8 GB card to start? I can't see me ever keeping over 200 pics at once on a card? Although it's only about $50 more to go to a 16 gig card from 8.

[jhom]

Personally, I would go with 2 Sandisk Extreme III 8gb. They are $58 each at B&H and there is a rebate of $40 if you buy 2 or $80 if you buy 3.

[un4given]

Personally, I would go with 2 Sandisk Extreme III 8gb. They are $58 each at B&H and there is a rebate of $40 if you buy 2 or $80 if you buy 3.

Thanks, however I live in Canada so I'm not sure if that would work for me? Also, I'd have to pay shipping.

I'll roam some Canadian sites and see if I can do better than $120 for a 16gb.

[un4given]

It's crazy how much the price difference varies from store to store. Over @ Bestbuy the Extreme III 16gb is $119 and at Don's Photo it's $189.99. Yeesh, you really need to keep your eyes open on this stuff.

[teo-bingus]

I'd get a couple smaller cards.
I have a bunch of 4gb extreme 3's from the last round of sandisk rebates.

[un4given]

I'd get a couple smaller cards.
I have a bunch of 4gb extreme 3's from the last round of sandisk rebates.

Is there a reason to get a bunch of smaller ones as opposed to one big one? You don't find yourself changing cards all the time? I'd find that annoying, or maybe not?

I guess if I could get 'em much cheaper I'd go that way, we'll see what kind of deal I can score tomorrow.

[Tigershark]

If one goes bad you don't lose 16gb worth of work, don't place all your eggs in one basket.

[hollis_f]

Is there a reason to get a bunch of smaller ones as opposed to one big one? You don't find yourself changing cards all the time? I'd find that annoying, or maybe not?
I find it horribly annoying - having to remember to put it somewhere 'safe' after having marked it as 'full' in some way. You could buy 4x4GB cards - but then it's more than 4 times as likely that one of them will go wrong.

Get the 16GB card - unless you do lots of shooting at 6.5 fps in raw mode. If you do that then you may find yourself filling the buffer and having to wait for data to get writ to the card. In that situation you may find that the Extreme IV might be worth getting as the 50D can take advantage of UDMA (faster write times).

If you do go for a 16GB card it's probably worth getting a cheap, slow, 4GB card and keeping it in your bag - just in case you forget the biggy one day.

[Sean]

It's crazy how much the price difference varies from store to store. Over @ Bestbuy the Extreme III 16gb is $119 and at Don's Photo it's $189.99. Yeesh, you really need to keep your eyes open on this stuff.

'allo follow canadian. www.photoprice.ca

It only has Sandisk card, but it's a start.

[blackcro55]

Get the 40+MB per second version UDMC(?). You'll be able to use the maximum shot speed all day long. I got the 8 GB version and it's 1200 large fine jpeg and 333 RAW

[Marloon]

i use 5 of these cards... i used to work at best buy and i bought them for 37 dollars each (w/ tax). the day before i left, i bought A LOT of these.

[j27lee]

That card regularly goes on sale for $99... I'm waiting for the next sale to pick one up.

I bought the Lexar 8GB 300x card for $99 during boxing week. I've seen that card go on sale quite often as well, and am quite happy with it, though I need more cards.

[ed rader]

If one goes bad you don't lose 16gb worth of work, don't place all your eggs in one basket.


or if you have two cards you have twice the chance of failure :D.

ed rader